Without trail cams or actual observation, is it possible to distinguish day sign from night sign, tracks, trails, etc?
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Day sign vs night sign
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Day sign vs night sign
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
I started looking at all sign like rubs and scrapes as night only. Beds, I look at differently and especially rubs in or near a bed. For years, I wasted season after season chasing sign and activity that was 99% night time. The proof to me was my hunting logs that had limited mature deer sightings even though I had ample rubs/scrapes/tracks.
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- whitetailassasin
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
I believe there is a good way of determining some yes. Close to field edges of high pressure areas and food sources by bucks, scrapes and rubs are almost always nighttime activity to me. They seem to pop up around pre rut/rut time. I also feel like the heavy runs to food sources in high pressure areas away from bedding leading to the food or just outside of food are seldom used during daylight. Younger deer may, but if we are talking mature deer, which I am, I rule those out as well. Travel routes in open areas I also rule out as daylight movement areas. This has been my experience any way.
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- gjs4
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
if the deer making it could be seen from more than 50 yards in most directions it was most likely made at night
Green and growing... Or red and rotting
- Buckfever
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
mheichelbech wrote:Without trail cams or actual observation, is it possible to distinguish day sign from night sign, tracks, trails, etc?
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Sure it is. If you know where the bedding is.
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
Agree with whitetailassain and also if your in the hills most of the sign that is gonna be made during daylight hours will be that 1/3 elevation. That's where the bucks like to cruise during the day. Yes some could be made in the bottoms and tops but it's all about playing the odds and finding that sign in the 1/3 elevation in the hills is a good bet that a lot of it has been made during daylight hours
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
As mentioned, hill country 1/3 elevation sign, and the rest, put a circle around the bedding about 100 yards, and "some" of that should b e daytime sign...
People get way to hung up on rubs, scrapes, trails, and tracks... Big bucks move very little in daylight. I walk right past most of the sign that is not near bedding.
People get way to hung up on rubs, scrapes, trails, and tracks... Big bucks move very little in daylight. I walk right past most of the sign that is not near bedding.
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
I think if A rub, or scrape is in the open hardwoods, it was done at night. If it is thicker than hair on a Hodag, it is done in daytime , mostly. I have a nieces friend that hunts the same public land as I do. I was kinda bragging about the area. Then nieces hubby had a friend that took a whole week off work, hunted like crazy for a week. He did not see a deer. Said it with a question tone and was amused that I sees deer there every other time I go out on average and my hunts are 2 hours , then my back hurts so I go home. I didn't even ask where or what type of woods he was hunting. He was hunting in the open hardwoods and everyone reading this knows it too. I hunt dogwood, willow brush , cattails and some type of high grass with scattered trees. I see deer , he does not. And, , he did not get his boots wet . I have 16" boots and lots times I really have to try not to get water in my boots.
- IkemanTx
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Re: Day sign vs night sign
ihookem wrote:I think if A rub, or scrape is in the open hardwoods, it was done at night. If it is thicker than hair on a Hodag, it is done in daytime , mostly. I have a nieces friend that hunts the same public land as I do. I was kinda bragging about the area. Then nieces hubby had a friend that took a whole week off work, hunted like crazy for a week. He did not see a deer. Said it with a question tone and was amused that I sees deer there every other time I go out on average and my hunts are 2 hours , then my back hurts so I go home. I didn't even ask where or what type of woods he was hunting. He was hunting in the open hardwoods and everyone reading this knows it too. I hunt dogwood, willow brush , cattails and some type of high grass with scattered trees. I see deer , he does not. And, , he did not get his boots wet . I have 16" boots and lots times I really have to try not to get water in my boots.
Getting out of the woods was the hardest thing for me. It is just "instinctual" to go into them. But, a lot of my setups were on transitions this year and they produced well. I will be focusing my scouting there next and forego the open woods for a season or two.
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